Le Blanc de Chanel

Le Blanc de Chanel - £31

I found this little gem while poking around through my mum's makeup stash a while ago and she offered to let me keep it- thanks, mum! At first I wasn't completely sure as to what it was, I just knew it smelt like what makeup used to smell like- one whiff and I was taken back to my childhood- and I was meant to put it on my face. After a bit of research I finally came to the conclusion that it was a primer/highlighter hybrid.

I like the packaging from an aesthetic point of view as it's sleek and looks lovely in my collection, however it's quite impractical. The opening is very wide, and accident-prone me will probably spill it sometime in the near future. My mum tossed away the spatula that came with it a while ago so I have to tip it onto the back on my hand.

I apply it before foundation, giving a certain level of luminosity to my skin, without looking like I've just been dunked in a pile of glitter. It's a very thin liquid but a little goes a long way, making the price tag a bit easier to stomach. I absolutely love the finish this gives my skin, as well as making my foundation last that little bit longer.

Battle of the Bases

 

 For someone with a beauty blog, I would say that I have a relatively small amount of foundations, but for any normal person I have more than is needed. However, for me, I think that I have the right number to suit me!


I think I've got this balance right- 2 high end and 2 drugstore brands, good enough for me! I don't wear foundation every day, in fact, I only wear it about 1-2 times a week, and that's stretching it! But if I am going to buy a foundation, I usually do my research into it, which I did for the 2 high end foundations but not for the other 2.

 

I'll start with the Bobbi Brown BB Cream, this definitely does not have a matte finish, so I really need a powder on top so it doesn't prove to be too oily during the day. With my skin, it needs a primer underneath for most of the time but if I'm not really doing anything special then it's not essential. It has SPF 35 and is oil-free, really great for those days where you don't want to wear much but you want medium coverage. I don't consider this to be a BB Cream, because I haven't seen any changes in terms of my skin's quality. 

               

Next is my beloved Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation, the kind that is 'your skin but better'! It's lightweight and is very easy to build, it can be used just to look a little fresh-faced or to make yourself up for an event. The longevity is OK, but it works even better when paired with a primer, The POREfessional in particular. 

         

                                    

Now onto the drugstore brands, first is Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, which I bought a couple of years ago then completely forgot about. It is such an amazing product, with a matte finish to suit all oily skin types. On top of that, the coverage is fantastic and easy to blend as well as build. I use either my Real Technique's Stippling Brush or just my fingers, both work very well to get a flawless finish.

   

And lastly is my least favourite of the bunch, Revlon's Photoready BB Cream. First off (and I know this is my fault rather than Revlon's) I swatched it on my hand, like an idiot, and so I bought a shade that's darker than my face! And secondly, it's so greasy that it would just slip off my face. I can't imagine even somebody with normal skin could find this to work for them, because as soon as I put it on it just looked so shiny and oily. That could be down to the SPF 30 that's in it, but I would personally rather wear my own SPF and avoid the greasiness that is this product. So unfortunately, this is a big thumbs down product from me.

So those are my foundations, overall I think that it's actually a tie between the Benefit one and the Maybelline one! They do different things and I use them for different kinds of events, but I still really love them both. 

September Favourites

 This month has symbolised the beginning of Autumn and the beginning of another school year -cries- so I have kept the make-up to a minimum and haven't really tried new things this month. Nevertheless, here are my favourites!